Europe in a Week: Ireland

We arrived at 8:30 am Sunday, October 1st in Dublin, Ireland🇨🇮  We picked up our car which is where we had the first encounter with the parking brake and also where we were abruptly thrown into left-side driving!  #woof

We managed to make it downtown and find some parking on the street.  We started off with brunch at a local cafe called the Coffee Bean.

In 3 hours we had checked off our list of what we wanted to see in Dublin.😅  Ha’ Penny bridge, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Book of Kells at Trinity College–which was a really long line so we didn’t wait to actually go in, Grafton Street-a popular shopping street…

and the Guiness Storehouse– where we took the tour and learned how to taste and pour our own beer from the tap–we don’t even like beer 🍻😂

The last thing we wanted to see while in Ireland were the Cliffs of Moher (aka: moe-hairs😂)!

So after a fast and furious time in Dublin we ventured out into the countryside–on the left side of the road that is.  It wasn’t long before our highway stretch came to end, our path narrowed and we were winding around bends (you know, like in the movies when they have to stop for the sheep to pass- we only had to once)!  Jess was driving this portion of the trip (as I was pumping #stilldoingthatmomlife) and all I remember hearing her say was, ” I’m closing my eyes everytime we pass a vehicle.”😳😂 Haha it was hilarious, but again no collisions to report! (Ok maybe a couple of scratches on our left side from bushes etc, but you’ll have that.) #mybad

We had hoped to make it to our Bed & Breakfast in Doolin before dark. We arrived just in time for the westerlies (their term used quite often for the winds) to pick up and for Sean (our host) to welcome us in by carrying our luggage.  I’m telling you, if you have seen Ireland in the movies, this was picture perfect!

We found our room then made our way to the nearby village pub for dinner- Gus O’ Connor’s!  (It was about 9:30pm by now.)  We weren’t quite sure what to expect as we walked into the pub– only seeing guys, and only greeted with that typical stare! We quickly saw many other Irish women so didn’t feel quite as out of place.  Let me remind you that this was a Sunday evening, and all of the locals were in having dinner, drinks, and live Irish music.  This place was packed,why we ended up in a back room, somewhere in the corner!

The food was hearty but delectable at that– we split two meals so we could try a variety– Fish & Chips and Bacon & Cabbage!  (Not your typical bacon) #hefty We ended up doing dessert here (actually our only time all week that we made time for dessert). #ararity🍦
We finished up and called it a night as we knew our adventures were only beginning for the week!

The next morning Sean made us breakfast along with the 5 other people staying the night. (all from the states–NC, NY, & MA)   It was fun to get to know them and hear about their travels.  The breakfast was really outstanding compared to a typical b&b.  They had an assortment of yogurt, granola, pastries, breads and then on top of that you ordered a main entree that Sean prepared for you right there.  The joke was that he doesn’t like people to move his food around, so eat what you order!  That scared us from ordering the “Traditional Irish Breakfast” to try because with it came Black Irish Pudding.  It was described to us as having pigs blood in it– I really didn’t need to hear anymore ingredients, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to gag it down knowing that secret ingredient!

Anyway, we ate, said goodbye to our breakfast friends and started on the day’s journey! Oh and if you ever need a place to stay near the Cliffs of Moher definitely check out Doll’s Cottage.  You will get the full Irish experience, it was great!

We headed up the road to a viewpoint to which we thought were the cliffs to find this was only a dock, with a view of the cliffs in the distance.

Luckily our breakfast friends were there at the same time to correct us and get us on the right path 😂 #typicalblondes  We thanked them, gave them a ride back to the cottage and took the other route winding to the cliffs.

Ok so the Cliffs were beautiful–better than what the pictures show! #windfordays Cliffs of Moher ✔️

Sean had given us a recommend route for out trip back to Dublin (where we were flying out of) so that we could see some views off of the beaten path.  One specific stop was this perfumery–literally out in the middle of nowhere! Adorable it was, with it’s cobblestone structure & cottage feel! 😍

On the road again, we headed back towards Dublin–thinking we might grab dinner downtown before our flight left but we quickly realized traffic wasn’t going to allow for that.  Restaurants outside of the city were hard to come by, but Jess did find this popular among locals, Asian Fusion Restaraunt– Lemongrass. We were pleasantly surprised with the great flavors, especially after we walked in and it was pretty empty.  Nothing like doing Asian-Irish food lol

Ireland you didn’t disappoint👌🏼

Next stop London, England🇬🇧 Trust me, there is much more to come… but until then, as they say in Europe, Cheers🍻